Avon Cool to Sharing Police Dispatch with Neptune City
By GARRETT STASSE
Avon will tread cautiously on an idea to share police dispatching services with Neptune City.
Instead, the Board of Commissioners is considering hiring perhaps two full time dispatchers while experimenting with shared services on the midnight shift.
The board on Monday informally rejected a proposal to merge services outright but will try to negotiate the midnight shift experiment. But even that is tentative as commissioners ponder the consequences.
Commissioner Francis Gorman said Police Chief Terry Mahon opposes any change and would like to have full-time dispatchers. Mahon wants headquarters staffed and wants to free officers from desk duty to patrol. The remarks came in a memo following a meeting between the commission and Neptune City officials.
Gorman also said he interviewed four former chiefs who all recommended against the proposal. One supported hiring full-time dispatchers. The borough laid off its full-timers in 1989, a move that has since proven to have been a mistake, he said.
It looked good on paper at the time but it turned out not to be the way to go, he said.
The department uses part-time dispatchers.
Mayor Robert Mahon said he was inclined against an agreement because it could hurt the departments ability to provide services. Both towns are using a state grant to study the situation and provide money to Avon to upgrade some technology, something we havent kept up with.
Merging the departments is not on the table, although talks might occur some day if the dispatcher agreement works, he said.
I have a strong consideration against that, he said.
Gorman said he had been misquoted in another newspaper when it was reported that he backed a town-wide referendum on a dispatcher pact. He said he would want a vote only if both towns agree to a merger. The mayor joked hed leave town the night before that vote.
Borough Administrator Tim Gallagher said the budget for full time dispatchers would be about $175,000. A survey of surrounding towns revealed that dispatchers are paid between $33,000 and $35,000 on average, plus benefits.
Pavilion Rentals Raised
Commissioners raised rental fees for the boardwalk pavilion to $275 for residents and $500 for others since rentals would be for more than one day and as many as three so users could set up, hold their event then clean up afterward.
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